Cricket: Provinces go local to round out squads

Central Districts' wicketkeeper Bevan Griggs is coming to Auckland. Photo / APN

Local talent had its say when the six major associations came to finalising their contracted lists for the coming domestic cricket season.

After initially being required to name between nine and 11 of their 12 contracted players, all six then plumped to stick with familiar faces to complete their lineups.

The two-part strategy had been intended to ensure the country's top 72 players got contracts. So any missing in the initial naming would be available to other provinces.

That didn't transpire, with the likes of seasoned wicketkeepers Chris Nevin and Bevan Griggs missing out.

Auckland's roster was completed by fast-medium bowler Gareth Shaw and aggressive middle order batsman Dusan Hakaraia.

Shaw, 28, has 62 first-class wickets at 29.4 from his 19 games and Hakaraia, 27, has been a solid A team performer, who gets his chance in a squad notable for its promise rather than wealth of experience.

"We've got great depth of young talent, but what we're missing is experience," Auckland Cricket chief executive Andrew Eade said yesterday.

"If those guys all come on in the way they should and stay together two or three years we could have a fantastic side. They might do it this year, or it might be a bit of a learning curve."

The other five provinces also went the local way for their final selection. Harry Boam and Malaesaili Tugaga (Wellington), Karl Frauenstein (Canterbury), Kieran Noema-Barnett (Central Districts), Anurag Verma (Northern Districts) and Darren Broom (Otago) all fit that bill.

Auckland have six players with national contracts, including fast-medium trio Chris Martin, Kyle Mills and Daryl Tuffey, plus wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins and batsmen Martin Guptill and Tim McIntosh.

They will lean heavily on overseas pro and longtime former Auckland allrounder Andre Adams, but Mills, Tuffey, Hopkins and Guptill in particular could be missing for the bulk of the season on international duty.

There is no wicketkeeper in Auckland's 12, but that opens the door for one of the group of hopefuls, including Jonathan Bassett-Graham, Bradley Cachopa and Rory Kristofferson.

However, given the shortage of wise older heads, Auckland might favour former Central Districts keeper Griggs.

He was unwanted by his old province, who have hired former Canterbury captain Kruger van Wyk. So Griggs, a 10-year veteran with CD, is heading to Auckland to play his club cricket this season.

Other than those promoted to national contracts, the more notable names missing from the list, besides Nevin and Griggs, are CD left-armer Ewen Thompson, who has retired, ND spinner Bruce Martin, who has moved to Auckland, and Johan Myburgh, who was to headline Auckland's batting, but is now staying in England.

Payments will be adjusted when the new collective contract kicks in shortly. As a reference point, under the old deal the top ranked players received a $37,000 retainer; No 12 got around $20,000.

On top of that match fees were about $450 for every T20 game; $700 for a one-dayer and $1450 for a first-class appearance.

CD have retained the most players from last season's list - nine - while Auckland, with six, has the fewest.

The Plunket Shield starts on November 9, with the HRV Cup T20 taking over from December 2 to January 2, followed by the one-day competition. The season ends with the completion of the shield programme.